Uh, oh, what could be coming?
Grant went on, “I want you to remember how Roz feels about Vince’s house. I want to pay for this addition. I want to feel invested in our marriage and in our property.”
Caprice just stared at him wide-eyed until tears filled her eyes. “Did you think I’d fight you on this?”
He was as serious as she’d ever seen him. “I didn’t know.”
She quickly assured him, “I’ll add your name to the deed after we’re married.”
“No, not after we’re married. I want you to wait until after the addition is completed.”
She realized that sometimes a man’s pride was everything. This was Grant’s pride talking, as well as his love for her. She wouldn’t fight him on it, but she would like to pay for something herself. “How about if I buy us the stove? Then every time you turn it on to be warmer, you’ll think of me.”
He laughed. “My guess is you want to buy the stove to pick the color.”
“If we get one with a ceramic coating, they actually do come in colors.”
Grant groaned. “Don’t tell me you’d decorate my office around the color of the stove.”
“That’s quite possible,” she teased. Then she grew serious. “I do understand your feelings about this.”
“Now that that’s settled, we can concentrate on the wedding.” He tugged her back to the sofa and pulled her down beside him.
“I have a list of everything we have to do yet.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I know you still don’t have an answer from my parents about where they’re going to stay. I’ll call this week and ask again, and also tell them about the rehearsal dinner.”
“Will you feel comfortable doing that?”
“I hardly ever feel comfortable with my parents. I’ll try to be tactful and honest. If they object to Roz planning it, we’ll figure out how we can include them.”
Caprice had thought a lot about brothers lately, not only about Grant and his brother Holden, but about Travis and his brother Jarrett. She was lucky to have good friendships with her sisters, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have complications now and then. She had gone through a spell when she and Bella’s husband Joe hadn’t gotten along at all. That had caused mounds of tension. Grant had started sharing with her more and more, but he’d never shared what kept him and his brother at arm’s length.
“Can you tell me why you and Holden don’t have the best relationship?”
Grant didn’t say anything for a good little while, and Caprice had decided she wasn’t going to push . . . just wait. Finally, the waiting paid off.
He blew out a breath and turned to face her. “Part of the problem has always been that Holden is five years younger than I am, so our interests never overlapped. I’ve always thought Holden was wasting his life by not going to college. He could have gone to a community college and then taken out loans for two more years at a state college. He had average grades but he also had ability and intelligence.”
“How did you get through school? Was it a breeze?”
“No breeze. But I had been lucky. My grades were high enough and, along with my track trophies, I earned scholarships. I also worked while I was in school so I could take as little as possible from my parents. Even though Holden had the smarts, he was tired of books and school. When he graduated from high school, his main interest was working to buy a car. After he did, he drove to Canada with friends. Then he drove to Florida, and next Minnesota . . . just because he wanted to. Eventually he found a position with a medical supply company. He’s the head of a division now and he travels a lot in that work. But I don’t know if he’s happy.”
Taking Grant’s hand and leaning tighter against him, she concluded, “So the main problem between you is that Holden doesn’t believe you approve of his life and that you haven’t approved of his decisions.”
“I suppose that’s right,” Grant admitted.
“When Holden arrives for the wedding, you can find out if he’s happy. Maybe you can mend anything that’s broken between you.”
“You don’t want much,” Grant muttered.
“Just a kiss,” she said sweetly.
A smile turned up the corners of his lips. Tipping up her chin, he gave her a kiss that told her their wedding couldn’t come soon enough.
* * *
Caprice walked through the gardens at Rambling Vines Winery looking for Michelle. Hyacinths were blooming now around the fountain and their sweet scent seemed to linger over the area. The beautiful flowers and their aroma seemed incongruent with the idea that a murder had been committed here. The crime scene tape was gone now and that meant the York County Forensic Unit had finished with the crime scene.
Caprice heard a garage door go up. When she looked in that direction, she spotted Michelle with a man standing by the Dodge Coronet.
As she approached them, Michelle began introductions. “Caprice, this is Leon Wysocki. He restores cars. He did all of Travis’s.”
Leon was a short man, easily in his fifties. He had thick, gray-brown hair that was parted too far over on one side. A bit stocky, his ruddy cheeks seemed to complement his bulbous nose. His forehead was high and his lips thin.
Leon extended his hand to her. “It’s good to meet you, Miss De Luca. I understand you have a Camaro that I could probably sell for a good price.”
“My Camaro isn’t for sale. Too much sweat equity invested in it from my family.”
Leon nodded. “These cars do take time and attention, upkeep too. Well, I’ll let you two ladies talk.” He gave Michelle a steady stare. “Remember what I said. Call me any time.”
Leon didn’t leave through the gardens but rather began walking toward the large bay where the grapes were unloaded at the back of the winery. Caprice knew that road wound through the vineyards and then out to the main road.
“Are you thinking about selling the cars?” she asked Michelle.
“I am. Of course, Leon would get a commission from the sales but it would be worth it to unload them. The sale of the cars could stake me until the winery sells. Eventually I can return to nursing to support myself.”
Caprice remembered now that Michelle had been a nurse when Vince dated her.
Michelle mused, “I met Travis in an ER. He’d had an accident during planting season.”
Caprice could see that Michelle’s memories seemed to be fond ones.
Suddenly Michelle seemed to shake herself free of them. “Let’s go to the house. The dog isn’t with you so you must have found him a home.”
After they emerged from the garage, Michelle pressed a remote in her pocket and the door went down.
“I took him to Fred and Agnes’s house,” Caprice revealed. “He and Agnes got along immediately. I told them it was a foster situation. But I’m hoping he’ll wiggle his way into their hearts.”
After Michelle thought about the match, she smiled. “He could be good for both of them.”
As they strolled toward the house, Caprice explained why she’d come. “I wanted to talk to you about Andy.”
“Who?” Michelle asked, obviously not connecting the name with anyone.
“Andy Sprenkle, the teenager who snuck in here determined to ruin Travis’s wine.”
Recognition dawned on Michelle’s face. “What about him?”
Caprice explained about her conversation with Andy and her drive with him to the police station.
“Did you hear anything from the detective after he questioned him?” Michelle wanted to know.
“Brett doesn’t share information with me unless he has to. But if I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
When they’d almost reached the house, Michelle tapped Caprice’s arm. “I got a call from Chief Powalski. They released Travis’s body. His funeral will be the day after tomorrow.”
Michelle looked devastated by the thought. A funeral always seemed to make reality harsher.
“I’ll be there,” Caprice assured her. She had to b
e there to support Michelle as well as her brother. In addition, sometimes a funeral was the best place to find a suspect with a motive for murder.
Chapter Eleven
As soon as Caprice entered the funeral home, she realized the seats in the viewing room this morning were almost filled. She was later than she wanted to be. She also realized the outfit she’d chosen was appropriate. She’d worn high-waisted wide-leg navy trousers with a pale-blue long-sleeved blouse and an embroidered navy vest. Some men were dressed in suits but a few wore jeans. The women’s attire was springtime casual. There wasn’t going to be any type of service here because the graveside service and the reception at the winery would take place afterward.
The funeral director motioned Caprice toward the guest book. She signed it, briefly scanning the other names there. It seemed Vince had been here earlier. She wondered if he was still here. If he was, that meant he was doing more than paying his respects.
A copper-colored casket was positioned in the center at the front of the room. It was closed with a picture of Travis on top. Displays of flowers spread across the floor and on tables on either side. She imagined many of the people here had put in an appearance for Michelle as much as Travis. From what Caprice had heard, Michelle was well liked among the winery’s clients.
Caprice spotted Michelle halfway up the side aisle. As always, she was impeccably dressed. Today she wore a green skirt suit with gold hoops at her ears.
As Caprice progressed up the aisle, she noticed Jarrett on the other side of the room, speaking to a couple.
Caprice decided to talk to Michelle first. An older, bald gentleman with wire-rimmed glasses was speaking to her. Should she interrupt or shouldn’t she? If she got close enough to listen to the conversation, maybe then she’d know whether Michelle would like to be rescued or not. Sometimes at viewings, a friend who knew the deceased would latch on and monopolize the relatives. On the other hand, in this case, people who came to pay their respects could be questioning Michelle about what had happened. In poor taste? Certainly. But that didn’t stop people from doing it.
As Caprice approached Michelle, she heard the older gentleman say, “You need to keep the winery and run it.”
Michelle responded with a smile. “I was the event planner. I didn’t make the wine or handle the business.”
That didn’t dissuade the advice the gentleman was giving her. “Maybe you should have been involved in that. Don’t you know you could hire the right people if you really want to keep the winery open?”
The man was getting a little too animated. Caprice took a step closer and he noticed her. His face turned red. He patted Michelle’s arm. “I’m sorry I was monopolizing you, but think about what I said.”
“I will,” Michelle told him pleasantly.
Close to her now, Caprice leaned in so no one could hear her. “I didn’t know if you needed to be rescued.”
“Mr. Lewis would have explained the whole business plan if he could have. Thank you.”
“Are you considering running the winery yourself?”
“I just don’t know. My head’s still swimming from everything that happened.”
Caprice asked, “If you would keep the winery would you still hire Neil as the CFO?”
“No, I don’t think I would. He was Travis’s hire, and the two of them usually got along just fine. But Neil and I—I don’t know. I think we’re just on two different wavelengths.”
Caprice wondered what those wavelengths were.
“Whether I keep Neil or not, there is still a problem. I don’t have the funds to keep the winery afloat. I would need an investor. Who would want to invest in a winery where someone was murdered?”
A young woman with a chic, short hairstyle and dressed in a gray business suit made her way toward Michelle. Caprice was going to step away but Michelle grabbed her arm. “Hi, Leanne,” Michelle said. “Caprice, this is Leanne Colbert. She’s my former assistant. Leanne, meet Caprice De Luca.”
“I remember Caprice,” Leanne said. “She’s the one who redecorated your tasting room and house too.”
“That’s me,” Caprice said. She would have extended her hand but Leanne didn’t seem to expect that.
Leanne explained, “I worked on event planning with Michelle before Travis fired me. Believe me, I’m not here for Travis. I’m here for Michelle.” Her voice trailed off as her gaze went across the room. “I’m here for Jarrett too.” She said to Michelle, “I am sorry, though. Travis’s death probably leaves you in the lurch in a lot of areas. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go talk to Jarrett.”
After Leanne was out of earshot, Michelle kept her voice low. “I think Leanne had a crush on Jarrett when he was at the winery. Maybe now that he’s back, she’ll want to resurrect it.”
“Did she find another job after she was fired?”
“Oh, yes. She was hired for one of the paid positions at the community center. She plans events for kids and adults. The salary isn’t great, but from what I understand, she’s enjoying the work and doing a good job of it.”
Grant entered the room, saw Caprice, and came toward her. She couldn’t help but smile. Every time she saw him, she got butterflies.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist, leaning close and kissing her cheek. “Simon had some questions for when he keeps Patches when we go away on our honeymoon. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t have time to talk. He’s like Patches’ grandfather.”
Caprice smiled just thinking about it. She was glad Grant was close to his neighbor. She hoped they’d stay friends even after Grant moved. Simon’s townhouse wasn’t that far to visit or drop Patches off if Grant needed him to pet sit.
Caprice’s gaze fell on Jarrett and she thought that he looked uncomfortable, even jittery maybe. What was that about?
She leaned close to Grant. “The times I met Jarrett he was calm, cool, and collected. He doesn’t look that way now. In fact, he just took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow.”
“Maybe he had real feelings for his brother and this is difficult for him.”
Caprice had to wonder if Grant was talking about himself and Holden.
Michelle moved away to talk to someone she knew, but Neil rose from his seat and came over to Grant and Caprice. Did he have something to tell her that might help in the investigation?
As he moved toward them, she noticed Leon, Travis’s car mechanic and restorer who had been sitting near Neil. She spotted Fred Schmidt too in the row behind him. She was sure he was here for Michelle and not Travis.
Something she had forgotten came back to her now—the neighbor whom Fred had mentioned. The man didn’t like the winery events since Michelle and Travis had redecorated and redone the winery. He was going to be the next person Caprice spoke with.
After Neil reached them, he pointed his chin toward the far-right corner. “Look who’s hanging out at the back of the room.”
When Caprice looked that way, she recognized the man immediately. It was Detective Jones.
“I was called in for questioning again,” Neil said, sounding bitter about it. “He was the one who interviewed me.”
“Was there a specific reason they called you in?” Caprice asked.
“Sure was. The detective wanted to know who might want to sabotage our wines. I told him about our main competitor and suggested Jarrett might want to do it too. They told me about the teenager who tried to pour something into the wine vat. I hadn’t known about that because I’d been on the road talking to distributors. When I returned to the winery, Travis told me there’d been some trouble, but that he was taking care of it. That detective acted as if he didn’t believe me.”
“That’s his way,” Grant said. “He often goads a witness, hoping for honest reactions.”
“All I had to give him was an honest reaction.”
As Caprice thought about what Fred had told her, that he’d heard a conversation with Travis and Neil and blackmail had been mentioned, th
ere was a commotion in the foyer of the funeral home—a loud voice, people murmuring, the funeral director following a woman into the room. She was waving her hands as she spoke to him. A black pillbox hat with a veil sat atop her very dark-brown hair styled in an upscale-looking blunt cut. She was wearing a black dress with an accompanying cape that was decorated with white embroidery. The outfit looked expensive. The shoes were Christian Louboutin. Caprice recognized them because Roz had shelves of pricey shoes. These were particularly noticeable with their red soles and very high heels.
Before Caprice could even form the question in her mind about the woman’s identity, Jarrett rushed forward to greet her.
Michelle looked frozen and astonished.
“Who is she?” Caprice asked her.
“That’s Travis and Jarrett’s mother, Vivian Granville. I recognize her from photographs I’ve seen. She remarried after her divorce from William.”
As Jarrett escorted his mother to the casket, Vivian began crying. She picked up the photo of Travis and her tears made streaks in her makeup.
“I’d better go over there,” Michelle said. “It would only be polite. Come with me?” Michelle asked Caprice.
“But I’m not family.”
“That doesn’t matter. I just need backup support.”
Since Caprice’s first meeting with Grant’s mom hadn’t gone all that well, she could understand how disapproval emanating from someone important could damage self-confidence.
Grant patted Caprice’s arm. “Go ahead.” He leaned close. “If Michelle depends on you, maybe she won’t depend on Vince.”
Grant could be right. She nodded to Michelle and they both crossed the room to Jarrett and his mother.
Michelle said to Vivian, “It’s horrible meeting you under these circumstances. I’m Michelle, Travis’s wife. This is my friend, Caprice De Luca. She’s been a great support.”
Jarrett said to his mother, “Caprice is trying to find out who would hurt Travis.”
Vivian extended her hand to Michelle and then to Caprice in a graceful movement that told Caprice she was practiced in meeting people.
Cut to the Chaise Page 12